Age Pension Eligibility

Age Pension Eligibility

Millionaires can now get an age pension. Or at least millionaire couples can. The cutoff point in the Assets Test for homeowner couples above which no pensions are payable is $1,074,000. The cutoff for single homeowners is $714,500. Non-homeowners can have an extra...
Retirement Planning and Interest Rates

Retirement Planning and Interest Rates

People planning to retire at the end of this year received a bit of apparent good news last week. Interest rates are now not likely to fall much further. Investing in bank deposits for income is likely to be more rewarding than had been anticipated.  The...
Challenges Ahead

Challenges Ahead

In the long term the strength of our economy determines not only investment returns but also our living standards. If the economy is performing well, that usually reflects improving productivity, output per worker. So incomes can rise. Company profits will also...
Property Outlook  

Property Outlook  

There aren’t enough houses in Australia to accommodate the population. From a time when supply and demand were in balance fifteen years ago, the shortage has steadily become worse. Many theories have been proposed as to the cause of the shortage – too many immigrants,...
Where to Next for Shares?

Where to Next for Shares?

Share markets are often weak from mid September, through October, to mid November. That would see investment values fall. However, so far this year has brought little sign of weakness. The main driver of share prices is company profits. If profits increase prices...
Aged Care Fees to Almost Double for Some

Aged Care Fees to Almost Double for Some

As explained last week a new regime of fees for residential aged care comes into effect from 1st November. Some costs will remain the same but most will increase. The total costs will be much greater for many residents. Firstly the aged care home will be able to...